U.S. History Review –
Unit 1 – Roots of the Republic (Beginning to 1861)
1.
Explain what happened on the following dates
a. 1776 –
b. 1787 –
c. 1803 –
d. 1861-1865 –
2.
What part did the following play in helping create an environment conducive to the creation of representative
government? What ideas did we borrow from them for the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, etc…?
a. John Locke
b. Jean-Jaques Rousseau
c. Thomas Paine
3.
Explain the importance of the following documents:
a. Magna Carta
b. English Bill of Rights
c. Declaration of Independence
d. Federalist Papers
e. Articles of the Confederation
f.
U.S. Constitution
g. Bill of Rights
4.
Describe the view points of the federalists and the anti-federalist.
a. Which one wanted strong central government? Why?
b. Which one demanded the Bill of Rights? Why?
c. What were their arguments for and against the Bill of Rights?
5.
Explain how the Declaration of independence gave birth to the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
6.
What 6 principles of government are reflected in the U.S. Constitution?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
7.
What did the founders mean by the phrase “unalienable rights?”
8.
Why is free speech important to a free society and what were the founding fathers most afraid of?
9.
Explain the contributions of the following people:
a. George Washington
b. Thomas Jefferson
c. John Jay
d. Alexander Hamilton
e. John Adams
f.
James Monroe
g. James Madison
h. John Hancock
10.
Why is the ability to amend the constitution so important?
11.
What is the difference between strict and loose construction interpretations of the constitution? Give a case that
illustrates this difference.
12.
Describe the 5 values discussed by Alexis de Tocqueville.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
13.
Describe the differences between a monarchy, a dictatorship and a representative democracy.
14.
What is the significance of the phrase “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?
15. Explain the significance of the mottos “E Pluribus Unum” and “In God We Trust.”
Unit 2 – A Country Divided (1828-1877)
16. What was the Emancipation Proclamation and what did it accomplish?
17. Describe the amendments and their impact on society:
a. Thirteenth
b. Fourteenth
c. Fifteenth
18. What was the nullification crisis and how did it help lead to the civil war?
19. Describe the compromise of 1850.
20. How did events at the end of the Civil War effect the participation of minorities in the political process?
21. Explain how participation in the democratic process reflects our national ethos, patriotism, and civic responsibility as
well as our progress to build a "more perfect union."
22. Why was Abraham Lincoln an effective president?
23. Explain the following peoples role in expanding rights and freedoms:
a. Abraham Lincoln
b. Harriet Tubman
c. Thadeus Stevens
d. Elizabeth Cady Stanton
e. Susan B. Anthony
24. What was the impact of Plessy v Ferguson (1896)?
25. Describe the importance of the following:
a. Black Codes
b. Carpet Baggers
c. Gettysburg address
d. Abolitionists
e. Declaration of Sentiments
f.
Compromise of 1877
g. Missouri Compromise
h. Jefferson Davis
i.
Ulysses S. Grant
j.
Robert E. Lee
k. John Wilkes Booth
Unit 3 – The Gilded Age (1877-1901)
26. What characteristics defined the Gilded Age?
27. How did western expansion impact Native Americans?
28. What impact did immigration have on urbanization and city politics?
29. Describe a political machine. How did their existence change politics?
30. How did industrialization lead to the creation of unions?
31. What impact did Samuel Gompers and Eugene Debs have in union creation?
32. Describe the differences between the ideas of “robber barons” vs “captains of industry.”
33. How did the rise of steel, oil and railroads change the role of government?
34. What was the Gospel of Wealth?
35. How did immigration impact child labor?
36. Describe how “push” and “pull” factors impacted immigration/migration to the west? To the cities?
37. What organizations helped assimilate immigrants into the American way of life?
38. Explain how the following political organizations impacted the civil rights movement.
a.
Temperance movement
b.
Seneca Falls
c.
NAACP
d.
Niagara movement
39. Describe the views of the following African American Leaders:
a.
W.E.B. DuBois
b.
Booker T. Washington
c.
Ida B. Wells
40. How did the following impact settlement on the great plains and the gold rushes:
a.
Homestead Act
b.
Morrill Land Grant
c.
Dawes Act
d.
Boomer/Sooners
e.
Reservation policy
f.
Little Big Horn
g.
Battle of Wounded Knee
41. How did the following people impact society:
a.
Andrew Carnegie
b.
John D. Rockefeller
c.
Jay Gould
d.
Thomas Edison
e.
Alexander Graham Bell
f.
Robert LaFollette
g.
Louis D. Brandies
42. How did Vaudeville and Ragtime change the nature of entertainment?
43. How did the following innovations impact business opportunities;
a.
Telephone
b.
Electricity
c.
Bessemer process
d.
Discovery of oil
Unit 4 - Progressive Era (1877-1920)
44. What characteristics defined the progressive era?
45. What was the purpose behind the following progressive era reforms:
a.
Initiative
b.
Referendum
c.
Recall
d.
Direct Initiative
e.
City Management Systems
f.
16th amendment
g.
17th amendment
h.
18th amendment
46. Explain how third parties shaped politics in the progressive era
a.
Populists and William Jennings Bryan
b.
Bull Moose Party and Theodore Roosevelt
c.
Split Vote leading to Woodrow Wilson’s Presidency
d.
Progressives
47. How did the conservation movement and the following people help create the National Park System:
a.
John Muir
b.
Theodore Roosevelt
c.
Presidents Harrison and Cleveland
48. What did the following Muckrakers due to impact society;
a.
Upton Sinclair
b.
Jacob Riis
49. Describe how the role of the government changed from Laissez-faire to regulatory.
50. What social/economic problems of the gilded age led to reforms in the progressive age?
Imperialism (1890-1915)
51. What characteristics define the age of Imperialism?
52. Explain the significance of the Spanish-American war (1898).
53. How did the following people move the United States towards a position of world power?
a. Alfred Thayer Mahan
b. Henry Cabot Lodge
c. Theodore Roosevelt
d. Samuel Dole
e. Missionaries
54. Why did the U.S. seek to acquire Guam, the Philippines, Hawaii and Puerto Rico?
55. How did foreign policy affect economic issues?
a. Platt amendment
b. Open Door Policy
c. Banana Republics
d. Big Stick Diplomacy
e. Dollar Diplomacy
56. How did military intervention in other areas around the world affect the home front?
57. Explain the role of Yellow Journalism in building a spirit of imperialism and in building support for the SpanishAmerican War.
58. How did Mahan’s book lead to technological advances?
59. Why did the U.S. have a vital interest in the Panama Canal?
60. Why did Theodore Roosevelt support a Panamanian rebellion?
World War I era (1914 – 1920)
61. World War I was from 1914 to 1918.
62. How did the following things lead to World War I and the entry of the United States into the war?
a. The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand
b. Imperialism
c. Nationalism
d. Militarism
e. Alliances
f.
Unrestricted submarine warfare
g. Zimmerman note
63. Describe the role of the AEF under General John J. Pershing.
64. How did the following innovations change the nature of warfare?
a. Machine guns
b. Tanks
c. Trench warfare
d. Poison gases
e. Airplanes
65. The U.S. claimed neutrality and isolationism while giving loans and military supplies to its allies. How did this affect
the war in Europe and on the home front?
66. What was the importance of Wilson’s fourteen points and how did they impact the treaty process?
67. Describe the importance of the Treaty of Versailles. Why was it rejected by the Senate?
68. What was the significance of the battle of Argonne Forrest?
69. How did the treaties effect political boundaries (consider the Balkans)?
70. Describe the economic effects of the following things:
a. Liberty Bonds
b. War Industries Board
c. Rationing
d. Extending credit to European nations
e. Migration of African Americans to the North
f.
Increased opportunity for women in industry
71. What were the arguments for and against the League of Nations?
72. How did the 1917 Espionage Act and the 1918 Sedition Act limit First Amendment Rights?
73. How did Woodrow Wilson’s leadership characteristics impact his decisions to
a. Remain neutral
b. Enter the war
c. Guide talks with the Big Four
74. How did the Committee on Public Information support the war?
75. Who was Alvin York and why was he important to the war effort?
76. Why were congressional Medals of Honor and their distribution to all genders and races important after the war
effort?
The Roaring Twenties (1920 – 1929)
77. What were the characteristics of the 1920’s that led the era to be named “the Roaring Twenties,” “The Jazz Age,” or
“Prohibition?”
78. What event marked the beginning of the great depression and when did it occur?
79. What was the impact of the 19th Amendment and in what ways did it change women’s roles in the ‘20’s?
80. Explain how the Scopes Trial illustrated the growing schism between fundamentalism and scientific study?
81. Describe the impact of the “Red Summer” in 1919 and the Ku Klux Klan on race relations.
82. How did Prohibition and Speakeasies change American’s view of law enforcement?
83. Explain the importance of Schenck v. U.S. and Gitlow v. New York.
84. Why did the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti raise fears, especially among immigrants in the U.S.?
85. Describe the importance of the following people to the 1920’s:
a. Charles Lindbergh
b. Amelia Earhart
c. Henry Ford
d. Clarence Darrow
e. William Jennings Bryan
f.
Marcus Garvey
g. Langston Hughes
86. Describe the work of the NAACP and the Universal Negro Improvement Association.
87. Examine the effects of overcrowding, pollution and crime as urbanization continued.
88. What was the purpose of setting immigration quotas during the 1920’s?
89. How did the following bring economic growth and prosperity during the ‘20’s?
a. Consumerism and credit
b. Warren Harding’s return to normalcy
c. Increased production efficiency spurred by Ford and the automobile
90. Identify the causes of the Great Depression such as
a. Buying stocks on margin
b. The Federal Reserve System and Monetary Policy
c. Bank failures
d. Tariffs
e. Declining foreign trade
91. What was “Teapot Dome” and how did it change American’s view of the government?
92. Describe how the 19th Amendment and the American Indian’s Citizenship Act of 1924 reflect progress towards a
“more perfect union.”
93. How did movies, radio and the rise of national magazines and newspapers lead to the creation of a national culture?
94. What was the Harlem Renaissance and what was its purpose?
95. How did the creation of a consumer economy lead to an increase in the Gross National Product and an increase in
production?